European Commission Probes Apple's Tactics

Today in international tech news: The European Commission is probing Apple's smartphone tactics, perhaps setting up a successor to Google for the antitrust spotlight. Also: Europe and Chinese telecoms will have a chat about subsidies; Amazon is hit by more strikes in Germany; and Google defends its indexing of extremist sites.

The European Commission is taking a closer look at whether Apple is engaging in unfair sales practices.

The EC, which is the executive branch of the European Union, sent a questionnaire last week to several European mobile network operators probing Apple's distribution terms -- specifically, whether those terms preclude rivals from offering a better sales deal.

The questionnaire, reportedly prompted by private complaints from mobile operators, touches on a number of questionable sales practices: Apple forcing groups to buy a minimum number of iPhones; requirements that ensure Apple does not receive less favorable subsidies and sales terms than its competitors; and technical or contractual restrictions on the iPhone 5 that preclude it from being used on high-speed 4G networks in Europe.

The inquiry is still in its early stages -- but as we saw with Google, the European Commission doesn't think fondly of a company
trying to elbow out competitors.

The EC is concerned that Apple might be engaging in agreements that "may potentially lead to the foreclosure of other smartphone manufacturers from the markets," the questionnaire indicates.

There are signs that Apple disables certain technical functions on certain products in certain European countries, which might constitute a breach of EU law, it says.

Europe, Chinese Telecoms to Talk It Out

Chinese telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE will reportedly meet with European trade authorities Monday to discuss EU concerns that the companies are violating antidumping and subsidy laws.

Europe's Chinese subsidy concerns are not new. Last September, following complaints from a European industry association, Europe called out Beijing's subsidies for solar panels.

While the solar panel investigation is expected to wrap up later this year, there is hope that negotiations could help avoid such formal proceedings in the telecoms sector.

Europe might do well to look at China's response to the United States' investigations into Huawei and ZTE. After the U.S. declared the companies untrustworthy last winter, Beijing took U.S. tech companies to task.

Only a skeptic would suggest it was retaliation, but one could be forgiven for thinking that China's
targeting of
Cisco and
Apple might have been a case of payback.

China is preparing to build the nation's first 4G network, a project that would be worth billions to European companies.

More Strikes at German Amazon Hubs

Workers at Amazon's German operations engaged in a second day of strikes over wages.

Employees
went on strike a few weeks ago demanding higher compensation, and then again on Monday.

The dispute stems largely from the classification of Amazon: Germany's giant services sector union wants wages to meet those required for workers in "retail and mail-order industries," while Amazon insists that it is a logistics business -- not retail and mail-order -- and that its workers earn on the upper end of what logistics companies pay.